Stepping back to the summer of 1983-beyond the MLB ASG at Comiskey Park is somewhat painful for me the Cubs fan. I’ve already explained why I’m not talking about 1993 and am holding off on the 2003 season. We have to take each season on its own merits, but goofy baseball fans like me need to point out similarities and oddities. Some of us notice this stuff while we’re at a game, but sometimes we have to zoom out.

1983 was a significant year in Chicago professional sports. Regardless of one’s baseball partisanship, we were in a playoff draught. For those keeping tabs, 1983 was the 20th anniversary of the city’s most famous winners, the 1963 NFL Champion Bears. The Sox hadn’t been in the Series since 1959 and the Cubs in 1945 and hadn’t made the playoffs either since 1969. The Hawks lost in the Stanley Cup Finals twice in the 70’s but that didn’t count.

While everyone (inside and outside of the game) has been celebrating all of the new rule changes, one thing hasn’t changed. There is still some pretty brutal baseball being played. It seems like as many games are won on bizarre wild pitches, passed balls and bases-loaded walks. Throw in the usual number of late-inning gaffes and errors and you’ve got some ugly wins.

Forty years ago, Glenview native and future Sox manager, Doug Rader said the White Sox were winning ugly. Without having to pay Pat Riley the rights, the team sort of adapted the phrase and any Sox fan of a certain age will delight in reeling of the roster and key games.

Until they made their way to Baltimore for games 1 and 2 of the ALCS, the particulars of that Sox season are a blur. I was a Cubs fan and a recent high school graduate-trying to figure all of that out. I know I went to some games at Comiskey but don’t have the particulars to back me up. I do know that as the Sox were winning ugly, the city was grappling with the idea of postseason baseball.

I’d be willing to be that no more than 6 non-Sox fans (of a certain vintage) could name the TV and radio crews from that season. For that matter, most non-Cub fans probably couldn’t do the same with the Cubs in 84 or 89.

The Sox TV crew was Hawk Harrelson and Don Drysdale and the radio was handled by Joe McConnell, Lorn Brown, and Early Wynn.

My point being, at the time we’re experiencing something like an historic playoff appearance/run or championship, we figure we’ll never forget anything about the season.

Without racing to the end of the season and spoiling the story, the Cubs followed suit in 1984 and the Bears finally won it all in 1985-86.

Back to the winning ugly theme, the White Sox had the best record in all of baseball-99-63 just edging out the Orioles at 98-64. And to the point of the more things change-the more they remain the same. The Sox were the only team in the AL West (7 teams) that finished with a winning record. Does that sound like the AL Central of 2023? The Sox won the division by a paltry 20 games and Rader’s Rangers took third place.

As the 2023 season draws to a close for the Sox, I’ll reference the Philadelphia and Baltimore sides to this equation.

In the meantime, rush out to a local card shop and check out some cards from the ’83 season.